Playing House
by PrincessBellePrinceAdam
Summary: Operation Overdrive The stressed out Hartfords need a vacation. Who do they trust with their noisy bundle of joy? Ronny and Will, of course. Rock and Roll.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers/Notes: OO isn't mine. Would I be writing this if it were? This fic picks up five years after OO ends; Mack and Rose are married. Ronny and Will are single (cough not for long cough); that's about all you need to know.

Dedication: To the Queen of Roll from the Queen of Rock.

**Playing House**

"And once again, Ronny Robinson is taking home the gold, folks!" the announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. As Ronny climbed out of her racecar, the crowd applauded and cheered for the young driver.

She held up her newest trophy and received another wave of applause. Grinning, Ronny headed off to the locker rooms, answering just a few questions for the press.

"So what's it like to be back racing after being a power ranger? Do you find it just as exciting?"

"What's a racecar like compared to those zords you used to drive?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Ronny pushed hair back behind her ears. "It's great to be back; zords are slow and clunky; and I don't have a boyfriend."

And after she'd showered, she found her yellow cell phone and speed dialed her best friends' home number. _'Hurry up already,' _she thought as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Rose Hartford asked wearily after the eighth ring. "Who the hell is calling me at two in the morning?"

"Oops, I forgot about the time difference. My bad. But guess who just won the International Championship Races for the third year running?"

"That's great Ronny," Rose replied, covering the ear that wasn't pressed to the phone with her hand to drown out the baby's crying.

Then the noise grew louder. "Jamie sure has a healthy set of lungs on her," Ronny remarked.

"That wasn't Jamie; that was Mack. He's obnoxious lately; the baby won't stop crying and neither will he."

Ronny could hear the stress in her friend's voice. "It's that bad, huh? Remind me never to have kids."

"Not even with Will?"

"Oh shut up. Anyway, I'll let you go now so you can try to get the baby and Mack back to sleep. Talk to you later."

"Bye," Rose yawned as Ronny hung up. The former pink ranger tossed the phone in the vicinity of its cradle and stomped down the hall to the baby's room. She snatched the baby away from Mack and sat down in the rocking chair. "Come on sweetheart; go to sleep," Rose pleaded with her daughter.

Jamie promptly began to wail louder. Rose groaned softly and continued to rock in the chair. "Shh," Rose soothed. She rubbed small circles on Jamie's back until the baby's cries finally stopped. Her eyes slid closed and Rose gently placed the baby back in her crib.

Mack slipped his arm around Rose's shoulders as the two shuffled back into their room. "That was terrible. Why won't she ever stop crying?"

"I don't know," Rose sighed as she got back into bed. "I really don't know."

"We need a vacation. How does Hawaii sound, honey?" Mack asked as he climbed in next to her and slipped his arms around her waist.

Rose sat up and stared down at her husband of three years in shock and disbelief. "It sounds terrible. We have commitments, Mack: jobs, school, and a little bundle of joy that never stops wailing… what on earth are you thinking, wanting to go to Hawaii?"

"We're only twenty-three years old, Rose; we're stressed to the max. When we come back we'll be relaxed and much better equipped to handle our lives together."

"What about Jamie? Poor girl's only six months old; she'll think her mommy and daddy abandoned her. No way, Mack. No way."

"Jamie is sixth months, like you said. There's no way she could even know what being abandoned it. Besides, we'll have people she recognizes watch her for us. We're gone for a week or so, we're happy and our mental health is repaired. Everyone wins."

"Oh, and what about the people you want to bestow our extremely noisy child on? I have a feeling whoever gets stuck watching her won't want to talk to us again."

"Someone who would be good with a child…Dax?"

Rose's face grew from shocked to alarmed. "I don't trust Dax to take care of himself, let alone my innocent baby girl. Next?"

"Tyzonn and Vella. They're very responsible, you have to admit."

"They're newlyweds," Rose said dismissively.

Mack, not about to give up, thought for another minute. "Will is in town next week. You call Ronny; I'll call Will and they can watch the baby together. With any luck, they'll finally realize how right they would be for each other. Come on Rose, it's perfect."

He was wearing her down; he could tell by the way Rose suddenly looked thoughtful. After a moment's consideration, she nodded. "That's not a bad idea, actually. Ronny's good with kids and Will is fairly adult-like. That just might work."

--

A week later, the Hartfords were on their way to Hawaii. As Mack lugged suitcases out to the trunk of the car, Rose went over basic procedures with Ronny and Will.

"Now, when you warm the formula, make sure to test it on your wrist first so you know if it's the right temperature. There are plenty of bottles for her; they're in the cabinet with the coffee mugs. The formula's in the pantry."

She started up the stairs, motioning for Ronny and Will to follow. Once the three adults were in Jamie's bedroom, Rose picked up the baby. "She likes this bear; it plays 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,' when you press its paw. Also, when you're gonna put her down for her nap, you should rock her; it puts her to sleep faster."

Rose looked at her friends apologetically. "Jamie has a problem with crying lately. We don't know why; we've tried everything. Sometimes she just needs a little extra attention, I guess, even though Mack and I-"

"Honey?" Mack called. "Will and Ronny have everything under control. Let's go. Our flight is in an hour and a half; we need to leave."

Rose covered her baby's face with kisses. "Mommy loves you so much, Jamie. She's not abandoning you. She'll be back in one week, just seven little days, my darling, my Jamie, my-"

"Rose!"

"He's right, Rose. We can handle this. Now get going. Go make out with your hot husband on a beach while we watch the baby. Have fun!" Ronny said as she practically shoved Rose out of the house. _'And now it's time to play house.'_


	2. Chapter 2

**Playing House**

When Rose and Mack had finally gone, Ronny beamed down at the child she'd been entrusted with. She didn't care that Jamie had a 'crying problem'; she was going to take advantage of this week with Will.

"Hello pretty baby," she cooed to the infant. Ronny kissed Jamie's forehead before placing her back into the crib. When she turned around again, Will had gone. She frowned. Maybe this house thing was going to be more difficult than she'd thought.

"Will…" she whined like a child, stomping downstairs. Ronny found him sitting on the red couch in the Hartford living room, already glued to a sports channel on TV. "You could have said something before you left, you know."

He scowled, but didn't say anything. Ronny plopped down on the couch next to him, playing with the ends of her ponytail absentmindedly. Will didn't speak until the TV station went to a commercial.

"It's not like I left the house, Ronny. You found me easily enough, didn't you?" Will picked up the remote and changed the channel to ESPN 2.

As sports scores and game times flashed along the bottom of the screen, the coverage turned to the races from the week before.

"Ronny Robinson, three time International Champion and former yellow ranger on the team of Operation Overdrive, has this to say about winning yet another gold trophy."

"'It's just great,'" the Ronny on TV said, "'To be able to do the thing I love most in the world to earn a living for myself. I realize not everyone is that lucky. I used to think that winning was everything, but now I know to be happy just by playing the game.'"

Will snorted and clicked the TV off. "Since when do you think that, Ronny? You're still obsessed with winning, same as always."

The statement stung. "That's not true. I can be a good loser…I just prefer not to be the one who loses. And anyway, Will, Mack and Rose are counting on us to take good care of Jamie. We shouldn't be down here lounging around."

Will shrugged. "She's six months old, Ronny. She can't get out of the crib yet, and she's not crying for once. Why would you want to go and mess that up? I'm tired. My team and I just recovered thousands of dollars worth of art two days ago. I haven't slept since then." He yawned, stretching his arms above his head.

Ronny frowned and returned to Jamie's room. "Let's go cuddle with Uncle Will," she cooed in the same tone all adults use when talking to a baby. "It'll be fun. He only thinks he's tough. He's really a big softie."

She brought the baby back downstairs and sat her down between her and Will. Jamie gazed up with the big blue eyes she'd inherited from her father. Ronny leaned over her, speaking in baby talk.

"Would you stop that?" Will asked irritably, turning up the volume so he could hear the video playing on MTV. "Why the hell did I agree to this in the first place?"

"Because Mack is your best friend and Rose is mine. They needed our help. And how can you not think that Jamie is adorable, because she is, oh yes she is, she looks like her mommy and we don't mind that she cries because we love her so much." Ronny said this last part in that ridiculous tone of voice, tickling Jamie gently as she did so.

Will looked down at the baby as well and shrugged. "She's cute, I guess. Babies aren't really my thing, though. They're more for touchy-feely people who always go around publicly displaying their affection."

"So you never want to have a family?" Ronny squawked indignantly. She'd been raised as the youngest of five children, all brothers ahead of her. She loved big families and planned on having one of her own someday.

"Nope," Will replied. "I'm a solo kind of guy. I learned to work with a team, but that's where I draw the line." He leaned back against the couch, yawning again. A moment later he sat up, looking at her curiously. "Why does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't," Ronny faltered, looking back at the baby. "Think she's hungry?"

"I'm sure she'll cry when she is," Will muttered. "I think Rose mentioned something about having just fed her, anyway. Just let it happen when it happens, Ronny."

Ronny frowned again. This was definitely not starting off on the right foot. If he was snapping at her already, how would the rest of the week go? "All right. Um…let's talk."

She'd never really been good at flirting. Sure, when she'd joined the Overdrive team, she'd scoped out all the boys, especially Will, but she knew she scared them all away with her competitive, somewhat childish ways.

But she'd grown up since then. She really had. And even though she would always love racing and always have the need for speed, she was ready to settle down.

She wanted to settle down with Will. She'd thought of him as the one who would be able to challenge her the most, the most interesting. He loved adrenaline rushes as much as she did. She was a free spirit; he was grounded and responsible. It didn't hurt that he was also very attractive.

In short, Ronny knew they were perfect for each other.

"About what?" Will's voice brought Ronny crashing back to reality.

"I don't know. It's just been a while since we caught up. I haven't seen you in so long. So…what's your team like?"

"Very good at recovering stolen artifacts."

His refusal to give her details only made Ronny more determined. "How many are there?"

"Three boys, two girls. They're all in their late teens. They do what I tell them to; I split the reward money six ways with them, and they don't have to pick pocket to feed themselves."

"Inner city kids?"

Will nodded. "Just didn't have good parents around to tell them what's right and what's wrong. If it was me, I'd want someone to take me under their wing like that."

"That's amazing, Will. It really is. I'm very proud of you. Are…are you seeing anyone special? Seems like everyone's pairing off: Mack and Rose, Tyzonn and Vella, Dax and Mira are back together…" She tried to clear her throat in a suggestive manner.

"Rose was Mack's girl since the second he laid eyes on her," Will scoffed, "And Ty and Vella were together when we met him. But to answer your question, Ronny, I'm not seeing anyone. I don't see why it matters, though."

"Just curious," Ronny lied.

Will shook his head and turned back to the TV. He closed his eyes again. Five minutes later he was asleep.

Ronny smiled. She put the baby in Will's lap and rearranged his arms to cradle Jamie carefully. She found a spare blanket in the linen cabinet and put it over Will and the baby, trying to make them both comfortable.

"Sleep tight," she murmured, tiptoeing out of the living room and into the guest room, where she'd put her duffel bag. She opened the yellow suitcase and piled things neatly into the dresser, thinking over what she and Will had discussed.

And as their conversation replayed in her mind, Ronny's heart sunk. She'd been way too obvious. He had to have seen through her flimsy excuses on being curious. And he hadn't given her any hints…

Oh. God. She was so screwed. Completely and utterly screwed…and heartbroken?

No. There was still time. Maybe he hadn't really seen through her shameful attempts at flirting. Maybe he was dreaming about her now as she sat on the bed, inwardly freaking out.

Not likely.

Because Rose _had_ fed Jamie before Will and Ronny had arrived. Now the food had gone where all food eventually goes.

"God you reek," she heard Will mutter to Jamie. "Ronny!" he yelled.

Ronny tumbled back into the living room. "What's wrong?"

"Jamie needs her diaper changed. I…don't exactly know how to do it."  
"Come on," Ronny sighed, leading him upstairs to Jamie's room. She took Jamie and laid her on the changing table and showed Will the proper way to change a diaper. "All better," Ronny told him.

She picked Jamie up, holding the baby against her shoulder. And then Jamie made a noise of discontent and opened her mouth.

Ronny's shirt was ruined.

Yes, this house thing was going to be much more difficult than she'd thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Playing House**

An irritated Ronny handed the baby over to Will and went to change her shirt. All right then. It was definitely time to show Jamie who was boss.

She found Will glued to MTV again. "What is it with you?" Ronny demanded. "It's called babysitting, Will. Not leave the baby in her room, watch TV and eat all of Mack and Rose's food."

"I'm not eating their food…yet. I ate before I got here. Anyway, Jamie's got a loud mouth. When she wants some company, we'll know. No worries."

"She's a baby. She needs to be nurtured and loved and cared for. I'm going to get her."

Ronny raised her head high and stalked off to get Jamie once more. Will smirked at the yellow ranger's retreating figure. "I guess now that she's empty, there's no harm in bringing her down again."

Ronny laughed against her will as she headed up the stairs. "It's OK, Jamie, I know you can't help it," she cooed. "Let's put a new outfit on you and we'll go play."

She found a pink onesie dotted with tiny red butterflies and stuffed the baby in it. "Don't you look precious? But before we go play, young lady, we need to get a few things straight. First of all, I have a low tolerance for crying. Second, when you need to throw up, do it on Uncle Will; he's being a grouch. Third of all, you will go to sleep right on time. We wouldn't want your mommy worrying when she checks in. Agreed?"

Jamie babbled incoherently, which Ronny took as consent. "That's a good girl. Come on." She picked up the bear that Rose claimed was Jamie's favorite and took both child and bear down to the living room.

Ronny set Jamie up with the blanket Will had abandoned, spreading it out on the living room floor and putting the baby on top of it. She sat down on it as well, holding the bear.

Jamie recognized her toy and let out a happy giggle. She crawled towards Ronny, stretching out a fat little hand for the bear. Ronny playfully held the bear just out of Jamie's reach.

The young girl stopped, looking up, puzzled. Mr. Paws was _her_ toy; why was Auntie Ronny not letting her play with it? She whimpered, still trying to reach up for the bear.

"Ronny, give her the damn bear; she's about to cry," Will observed from his spot on the couch. "She's too young to understand that you're just trying to play."

Ronny handed the bear over to Jamie, who giggled triumphantly before proceeding to slobber on the bear's paw. "All better," Ronny cooed, "I was just playing, Jamie. Just playing."

She watched as Jamie went to work on the bear's other paw, certain that Jamie was trying to eat the toy. She had a feeling Rose and Mack wouldn't be too pleased if she let their baby choke, so Ronny gently tugged the bear out of Jamie's mouth.

Jamie looked like her best friend had suddenly been taken from her. She opened her mouth inhumanly wide and began to wail.

Will promptly seized one of the throw pillows on the couch, aiming for the baby. "Will!" Ronny yelled, shocked. "That's not helping. Turn off the stupid TV and make her stop crying,"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't care! Just make her stop! Why the hell did I ever agree to this?"

"Oh, something about out best friends needing our help," Will quoted as he turned the TV on mute and joined Ronny on the floor. He snatched up the bear, frantically tracking his brains for some way to get Jamie to stop crying.

Then it came to him. He waved the bear in front of Jamie's face. "Hi Jamie," Will said in a squeaky childish voice. "I'm a teddy bear. I'm a magic teddy bear."

Jamie stopped crying, but continued to make small whimpering noises. She watched the bear intently with her blue eyes as if trying to make it 'talk' to her again.

Will could see that his tactic was working. He kept on at it. "Ronny was mean to take me away from you. She'll let you play with me again if you promise to stop crying. What's that? You _will_ stop crying if you and me can play again? OK."

Will placed the bear on the floor and Jamie crawled to it, happy to have her toy again. "See? That wasn't hard. Next time don't take the stupid bear away."

But Ronny was too busy grinning at his antics to hear what he said. "You're so cute, Will," she gushed adoringly. "See, you can be 'touchy-feely' just like the rest of us."

"All I did was shut the kid up. It's not brain surgery. No big deal, Ronny."

To Ronny it was.

--

By the third day of their weeklong sentence…er, job, they had established a little routine. No major tragedies had occurred, though a neurotic Rose called about every two hours to check on her precious little baby.

"Rose, we're handling it wonderfully. Jamie's asleep in her crib with her teddy bear. I fed her an hour ago and got a good burp out of her. Now go relax. Will and I can handle things. You paid way too much for a weeklong vacation, not go enjoy it."

Ronny hung up the phone without waiting For Rose to reply. "Hey Will, if the baby cries, you have to handle it. I'm gonna take a shower."

She went into the guest bathroom and closed the door. After adjusting the temperature to her liking, she got in, slipping the yellow robe off. The water instantly relaxed her. Her muscles her sore from leaning over Jamie constantly.

"Ah," she sighed loudly as the water worked its wonders.

Ronny had nearly finished with her shower when she heard the bathroom door creak open. "Hey Ronny," Will started. "Where's…"

Ronny carefully poked her head out of the shower, trying to make certain he couldn't see more than he needed to. "Get out of here, perv! I'm busy!"

Will scrunched his eyes shut, trying desperately to keep nature from running its course on his body. "Um…Jamie needs a new diaper. Where's the new package?"

She thought for a minute. "I think there might be one in the bottom dresser drawer in Jamie's room. And next time knock, you freak!"

Will nodded and shut the door behind him. Once in the hallway, he leaned back against the wall. He was very aware that if he'd been two minutes later, he might very well have seen Ronny naked. The thought would not leave his mind.

She was very, very pretty.

And what was more was that Will knew he loved her. He'd thought it was just a crush, just a stupid teenage attraction, until she and Tyzonn had gotten close. Will had wanted to rip the Mercury ranger's head off. Then he knew that he was in love with her.

Afraid of rejection, Will had never told anyone how he felt for Ronny- no one except for Mack, which probably meant that Rose knew. He was convinced his friends had set the two of them up. Could that mean that Ronny had similar feelings for him? Obviously Will hoped so.

But then she probably wouldn't have been so mad when he'd walked in on her shower.

By now Jamie was crying again and that water had stopped running, which meant Will had better get going. Ronny sighed softly on the other side of the door. Time to change that lovely child's diaper.

--

Ronny, now dressed in her warm yellow pajamas, found Will in the rocking chair with the now sleeping Jamie in his arms. "Shh," he said, "She only just got back to sleep. Anything I can help you with?"

"Hungry?" Ronny asked quietly. "I found a frozen lasagna dinner and a loaf of garlic bread. I thought I could make the meal for us."

"That sounds good," Will replied with a rare smile. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Just a little after seven. I'll go put dinner in, OK?"

"Give me a second and I'll go with you." Will stood up and placed the baby back in the crib, checked that she was tucked under her soft pink blankets and exited quietly with Ronny.


	4. Chapter 4

**Playing House**

They ate a quiet dinner with no interruptions from the noisy child they were caring for. "I'll clean up," Will said quietly with a small smile.

Ronny hung around in the kitchen while he washed their plates, studying the photographs magnetized to the refrigerator. There was one of Mack and Rose's wedding day, and another of the Hartfords in the hospital with a newborn Jamie in her mother's arms.

She wanted this picture perfect family for her and Will. She wanted to have a happy marriage, and she wanted babies with their father's eyes the way Jamie had Mack's.

"They're a good looking family," Ronny said quietly. Will finished putting the plates back in their cabinet and joined her, so close that their shoulders brushed. He took the photo from the fridge and examined it closely.

"They are," Will replied after a moment. "But I hope for their sake their next kid isn't like Jamie, crying all over the place." He smiled again.

Ronny chuckled and then looked at the picture. "Do you ever want what they have, Will? Don't you ever want to be able to come home to your loving wife and a houseful of kids? I…I'd like a husband and children to come home to, someday."

"Is there something you aren't telling me, Ronny?" His voice was much deeper than normal. He found her hands and gently pushed her back until she was up against the refrigerator. "Ever since we've been here watching the baby you've been different. You've been acting like you…have a crush on me or something."

Ronny looked away.

Will cupped her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. "Ronny, please answer me. Do you feel more than friendship for me?"

"Yes," Ronny said in a very quiet voice. "Yes I do, Will. I have for a long time…ever since you pretended to be on Miratrix's side instead of ours. And I'm sorry, OK, if I ruined everything by admitting to this after five _very_ long years…"

Will's heart was beating at twice its normal speed. She had feelings for him too. There was hope for them after all. He leaned in and kissed her as he'd wanted to in all the years of their friendship.

Ronny stood there for a moment in shock. He…was kissing her. Why was he kissing her? Did Will love her…? Then she reacted, kissing him back just as intensely as he was kissing her. Finally she pulled away for breath.

"That was…" Ronny panted, closing her eyes and leaning against him. Will wrapped his arms around her, finally at peace with his feelings. He liked how she fit into his arms, liked how heavily she was breathing after their kiss.

"I've wanted to do that for awhile."

"I'm glad you did." She stood on her tiptoes, slipping her arms around his neck and pecking his lips softly.

--

Will found Ronny curled up next to him on the couch, still asleep. He smiled yet again and kissed her temple. She didn't stir, and Will was pleased that she trusted him enough not to move when he touched her in her sleep.

He got off the couch, readjusted the blanket over her and crept upstairs to the baby's room. Jamie, he was, was wide awake and playing quietly with her bear. "Hello, baby girl," he murmured, to which he got a response of baby babble.

Will lifted Jamie out of her crib and sat down with her in the rocking chair. "I knew you could be quiet," he told her, swaying the chair slightly. "So me and Auntie Ronny finally stopped pretending. We're gonna be OK, me and her. We'll be together and maybe one day you'll have some cousins to play with."

He heard Ronny yawn as she climbed the stairs. Once she was in Jamie's room, she slid her arms down around Will's neck, her hands flat palmed on his chest. "Good morning," she said softly. "How's the baby doing? Any alligator tears yet?"

Will shook his head. "She's not so bad. Not bad enough to need a vacation, anyway. But we'll definitely need them to return the favor someday."

Ronny grinned. "Thought you didn't want kids. Thought babies were for touchy-feely people. Thought you were a solo kind of guy."

"Changed my mind. Not a crime, is it?"

Ronny shook her head as she took the baby from Will's arms and put her in her crib. "How about you get some coffee from us and I get Jamie dressed for the day?"

"Can do." He paused beside her, kissed her cheek, squeezed one of Jamie's fat little hands and returned downstairs.

Ronny smiled after him and then picked out an outfit for Jamie. As she tucked Jamie into the red onesie decorated with tiny pink hearts, she smiled at the baby as well. "I know you won't understand a word I'm saying, sweetheart, but I want to talk to you anyway. I'm so glad you stressed your mommy and daddy out enough for them to need a vacation. I might never have gotten together with Uncle Will if they hadn't gone off to Hawaii." She kissed the top of Jamie's head. "When you grow up you could be a matchmaker."

Ronny and Jamie joined Will in the kitchen. Ronny warmed a bottle of formula for the baby as Will started breakfast. "Ta da," Will joked as he set a plate stacked with French toast on the table for Ronny. "I'll go burp the baby while you eat."

"Thank you." Ronny cut a perfectly huge bite of French toast and popped it into her mouth. "This is really, really good. I didn't even know you could cook, Will. I'm putting you on kitchen duty for the rest of the week."

"Well, it was just me and my dad when I was growing up, and I swear he once set a fire getting a bowl of cereal. It was learn to cook or survive on PB and J."

"Must have been lonely, just you and your dad, with no mom or siblings to play with. It was the opposite in my house. I'm the youngest of five, not to mention the only girl. It was crowded, but there was always someone to talk to."

"My dad was all I knew. I never missed having a mother. She wasn't the mothering type, from what I know of her. But anyway, Ronny, it doesn't matter. If we work out the way we both want us to, then our kids will grow up very differently."

Ronny's heart melted at Will's sweet words. "Of course they will. I promise that. Now, go take the baby while I finish breakfast and then we'll get dressed and take her out."

--

On the fifth day of the former yellow and black rangers' stay, they hit their first major crisis. Jamie was hungry and the pantry didn't have any formula left.

"Will!" Ronny screamed into the phone. "I sent you out for the kid's dinner an hour ago; where the hell are you? She's screaming at the top of her lungs because she's hungry. Do something or I swear you and I will never-"

"Ronny, the first two stores I went to were out of formula. I'm just getting to the third store now. I'll be home soon, OK? I'll be home soon."

"Please hurry," Ronny mewed, her exhausted tone not unlike Rose's the night she had called to announce winning the races again.

"On my way."

Ronny hung up the phone and looked down at the crying baby in her arms. "It's OK, baby. It's OK. You'll get some dinner soon Jamie, I promise. It's going to be all right. Uncle Will's coming."

Jamie's sobs quieted slightly. "That's a good girl," Ronny praised, rocking the baby slightly. The phone rang then, and Jamie's wails reverted to their original volume.

"Hello?" Ronny asked loudly. "Hartford resid-"

"Ronny, why is my baby screaming?"

"Your demon child is out of food and Will hasn't come back with more formula yet," Ronny snapped. "I just talked to him; he's on his way. Everything will be all right when she gets some food in her."

"Jamie is not a demon child," Rose protested, sounding deeply insulted at the verbal attack on her daughter. "I resent that."

"I don't care what you resent. If she was such an angel you wouldn't have fled to Hawaii, now would you?"

"We can come home," Rose said quietly. "If you want out, we'll be on the first flight back tomorrow morning."

"I'm sorry," Ronny sighed, "I really am. This is the most trouble she's been. I'm just tired; I didn't mean to be so harsh. She's not a demon child; I apologize."

"Good, because Hawaii is awesome. Mack was right about us needing a vacation. I feel so much more relaxed." Then Ronny heard Mack in the background and Rose's voice became lower. "I need to get home. I need the chaos of my messy house and trying to grade papers and feed my crying baby at the same time. I need to be home. This place is too freaking perfect; it's like they're all robots or something."

"Isn't your hus-"

"Shut up, Ronny. I have to go. Mack's dragging me off for a couple's massage. Tell Jamie that her mommy loves her and will be home in two days. Kiss her for me…"

The line went dead as Will came in with a plastic bag. "Oh thank God," Ronny murmured, snatching the formula.

There was quiet at last when Jamie had her bottle.


	5. Chapter 5

**Playing House**

Rose Hartford was up at six a.m. on the last day of their vacation. She took her suitcase from the hotel room's closet and began piling her clothes into it. She took no care to be quiet.

"Honey?" Mack asked sleepily, sitting up in the bed. "We don't have to check out for another three hours. Come back to bed."

"I want to get home. I want to see the baby and the sooner I'm packed the sooner I get my little Jamie back in my arms."

"But honey, our flight isn't until eleven. That's a whole five hours away. Come back to bed; Jamie isn't going anywhere."

Rose looked over at her husband and smiled sadly. She got off the floor and climbed up onto the bed with him. "I miss my baby. I miss my baby girl, Mack. I just want to be home with her again."

Mack kissed her forehead. "You're a very good mother, Rose. A very good mother. I know how much you love our daughter, and I know how much you've missed her. She's been well taken care of, and you know this because you called Will and Ronny about every five minutes since we've been on this vacation."

"I just don't want Jamie to grow up and hate me. I don't want to be like my mother. I-"

"You're not your mother, Rose. The very fact that you want to smother her with attention and affection will tell her that, and hopefully she'll understand why her mommy is so crazy."

"That'll happen as soon as she realizes that her daddy is really the crazy one for putting up with her mommy." Rose smiled and pushed him down against the pillows, falling into her favorite place in the world: her husband's arms.

--

Ronny tossed her last pair of jeans into her yellow duffel bag. Rose and Mack were due back in half an hour, and Ronny was more than ready to head out. She'd loved caring for the Hartford child for the most part, but it was time to get back to the apartment she called home…where Will would be waiting.

"Babe?"

Ronny smiled at his term of affection for her. "Just packing up. Do you need me?"

Will joined her in the guest room. "I always need you." He cracked a grin. "I got the kid to take a nap. So until her parents get home…"

The former yellow ranger winked as she crossed the room to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around him. "What exactly are you suggesting, William?" Ronny cooed coyly.

Will touched his lips to hers. "A little of this," he said after he broke away. He kissed her once more, loving how Ronny moaned softly at the contact. "A little of that."

Ronny frowned up at him when he broke the second kiss. "How about a little more of that?" she asked, pressing herself against him just enough for nature to take its course on his body.

"I love you," Will said quietly as he moved the two of them closer to the unmade bed. He shoved her down onto it, still kissing her like his life depended on it.

"I love you too," Ronny whispered.

They were both down to their underwear when the front door opened. "Hey, we're home!" Mack's voice called.

Ronny groaned and rolled out from under Will. She yanked her T-shirt on over her head and pulled her jeans back on. "Hurry up and get dressed," she hissed to Will.

When she reached the front entryway, the Hartford adults had already gone upstairs. Rose was cooing extremely loudly to Jamie, who babbled back.

Will joined Ronny, now fully clothed and looking rather irritated with their friends. "So damn close," he muttered in her ear, to which she grinned.

"We'll be out of here soon…with no interruptions from them."

"I'm going to make sure of that," Will replied, slipping his arm around her waist as they continued upstairs to see their two friends.

The two Hartford adults were sitting on the floor in Jamie's room, fussing over their daughter like the three had been separated for several months instead of one week. "Who's Daddy's itty bitty baby girl?" Mack asked in his ridiculous baby talk voice. "Who's my baby daughter? Who do I love so much?"

Rose looked up at Ronny and Will and her brown eyes widened at their appearance. She noticed how close they were standing, and how possessively Will was gripping Ronny's waist. Rose continued looking up, her gaze falling on Ronny's messed up hair. "Did you guys have a nice vacation?" Ronny chirped.

"Looks like you two had a better one," Mack commented with a sly grin. "It's about time you two got the picture. We used to have bets running on how long it would take you guys to get together."

"I for one don't want any details," Rose announced as she took Jamie from Mack. "Just go on and hook up at someone else's house. I'm sure in a few years Tyzonn and Vella will need a babysitter."

"Shut up," Will ordered as Ronny blushed. "We're out. Hope you can get Jamie to stop crying before you need to visit another planet."

And as the yellow and black rangers descended the staircase, they heard Rose sigh. "We need to get new sheets for the guest room."


End file.
